Friday 14 December 2012

An English Carol sung by Irishmen

Just to remind us all that Christmas is not about things secular but the birth of Our Saviour (and a moderate amount of feasting).




And the words are here:-

Boar's Head Carol
The boar's head in hand bear I
Bedecked with bays and rosemary
I pray you, my masters, be merry
(so many as are in the feast)
Quot estis in convivio
Chorus: Caput apri defero, Reddens laudes domino
(The boar's head I bring, giving praises to God)
The boar's head as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedecked with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico. 
(let us serve with a song)
Chorus: Our steward hath provided this
In honor of the King of bliss
Which, on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio:
(in the Queen's hall)

3 comments:

  1. Love that song Richard, first heard it on a Maddy Prior CD. I'll see if I can learn it in time for the Bradford on Avon Folk Club Christmas party. So Christmassie, Thanks!

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  2. It's good to hear that one. Apt as well for the on going saga of bringing back a real sense of Catholicism to St. Mary's, Louth. It is true that God works in mysterious ways. In our quest to bring back Catholicism to Louth it seems that we have a generation of Irish Catholics, from the age of 40 to 55, who have also now joined us and said enough is enough. Since then we have already organised two genuinely Catholic events.

    I also have Irish Catholic roots, so it appears that 'the old country' is rising once again and coming to the rescue of English Catholicism at the home of the Lincolnshire Uprising. I have to be honest - I didn't see that one coming. I thought that Irish Catholicism in England was dead and buried.

    Oh just one other thing, would it be possible to use some (or all) of your post on "Where shall I place my cross?". I've been meaning to ask this for a while. With that in mind, I have had contact with someone high up in UKIP and it appears that they are doing rather well as a consequence of the Conservative fiasco.

    Anyway, I hope all is well this Advent.

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  3. Momangelica - a folk singer to boot! Hidden talents.
    OPN, yes we share the same gene pool, I hope that you are right about the Irish bringing us back to Catholicism once more. Please go ahead and use whatever you wish from my posts.

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